She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "The name of the guy you want to get is Blake. I don't know what he looks like, but I overheard some of his goons, the ones who tried to get me into the mess, saying something about him being their leader."
"And how do you know he's a Whisperer?" Ian questioned her.
She shrugged. "They all are. I haven't met a human or monster among them except when they have witches with them, and I know none of those girls have a name like Blake."
"Can you tell us anything about their plans?" he persisted.
Jenny held out her palm towards him and smiled. "Only if you return that vial."
Ian shook his head. "No can do. I'm putting this in a special hole where you can use it to explode blood again."
Our guest balled her hands into fists and stamped her foot. "But it's mine! I stole it fair and square!"
"Then I'm stealing it away from you," Ian quipped.
Jenny growled and marched to the door of our shared bathroom. I winced when she slammed it behind her.
What a night.
CHAPTER 5
I waited until the storm known as Jenny had subsided and stepped out into the hall. There was a question I wanted to ask Ian, but he was nowhere to be seen. I tiptoed downstairs. The front room was empty, but I heard a noise from the back door. I tiptoed down the hall and peeked my head outside.
Ian stood in the far left corner of the backyard with his back to me. He had a shovel in hand and a growing hole at his feet. When the hole was a foot deep he pulled the glistening glass vial from his overcoat. I crept up to him and was just behind and to his left when he spoke.
"You're a terrible sneak," Ian commented.
I grabbed my chest over my swiftly-beating heart and glared at him. "Maybe if you didn't have werewolf hearing and smell-"
"You'd still be a terrible sneak," he insisted. He popped the cork off and tipped the mouth over the hole. The contents poured as a steady stream into his handiwork..
"Why'd Cronus want that stuff?" I asked him.
"It's a little personal for him," Ian replied.
"So it's his blood?" I guessed.
Ian dropped the vial into the hole and covered the whole thing with dirt. "That's a story for Cronus to tell you."
He brushed past me. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. "Like he's going to tell me," I argued.
Ian paused and turned to me. He lit up a cigarette, and the match cast a glow over his face as he lifted the burning stick to his lips. "Try asking him." He blew out the match and strode towards the door.
"But he doesn't like me!" I yelled.
The door clattered shut behind him. I growled and whipped my head to one side. That's when my eyes caught on a window at the back of the house. The window belonged to Cronus' room, and the light was on. My shoulders sagged and I sighed.
"Why not finish my night off on a lower note?" I mumbled as I marched inside.
I caught a glimpse of Ian as he slipped into the front parlor. My reluctant steps took me upstairs and down the long hall to the door at the end. The door that led to Cronus' room. I swallowed the lump in my throat and rapped lightly on the door. Part of me hoped he wouldn't answer, and the other part of me wanted to run. My stomach fell when the door partially opened. Cronus' body took up the entirety of the crack so I couldn't see past him. His glare was unusually darker than normal and I shrank beneath the heavy emotion that emanated from him.
I smiled and weakly waved at him. "Hi. Um, is this a bad time to talk?" He continued to stare at me. My quick pulse slowed. Silence wasn't an outright refusal. "I was just-um, just wondering about you and-um, your past?" He studied me for so long that I squirmed under his steady gaze. Didn't this guy ever blink? "If you don't want to, that's fine. Sorry I bothered you." I half-turned away from him.
"Wait," he called to me. I paused and glanced over my shoulder. His hand was half outstretched towards me. He opened his mouth, but he snapped his jaws shut and pulled his arm back inside. "Never mind."
He stepped back and slammed the door in my face. I glared at the entrance and shook my fist in the air, or tried to. I was still a little close to the door and my hand bumped into the wood.
"Fine! I don't want to talk to you, either!" I shouted as I cradled my pulsing hand.
I spun around and marched down the hall. When I entered the living room Ian sat in his usual chair with a cigarette in his mouth. I plopped myself on the end of the couch and leaned my head back with a dramatic sigh.
"That was a quick chat," he commented.
"Yeah, the door didn't have much to say," I quipped.
He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't he tell you his life story?"
I snorted and lifted my head. "He didn't even tell me to scram. All he did was shut the door in my face."
Ian shrugged. "I guess he was ready to trust you, but he's a hard nut to crack. Just when I think I know him he goes and does something to throw all my ideas out the window."
"So are you going to tell me what's the deal with the blood and Cronus' back story?" I asked him.
He blew out a puff of smoke and shook his head. "Nope."
My face drooped. "Why not?"
"For one, I don't know how she got a hold of his blood, and I'm only guessing it's his blood because of the way he acted. Again, that's up for future adjustment if he does something unexpected," Ian told me. "For the other, if he doesn't want to tell you his back story, short as it is, then he must have a good reason and I'm not going to wreck his plan by doing his job for him."
I threw up my arms. "So I'm back to square one."
"You might be, but picking up our pink luggage tonight put us into square two," he commented.
I raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are you going to have us swipe all the rocks from that river?"
"Creek, and no," he assured me. He shrugged off his shredded overcoat and tossed it onto the floor beside his chair "From Jenny's description I got the feeling it was an expensive job to get those rocks down from the creek."
"So we're going to find out how they do that and interrupt their supply line?" I guessed.
He smiled at me. "You're getting to be a better detective. Must be me rubbing off on you."
"You wish," I quipped.
He shrugged. "A man's gotta have a dream, and I'm just glad it involves a lovely lady like yourself."
"Quit with the flattery and out with the info. How are we going to find their line?" I asked him.
"I've got a friend in the know. We'll check out their operation tomorrow after our foes have cooled off a little and see what we can dig up," he explained.
"Good." I stood and yawned. "You can drag Cronus along with you and I'll babysit Jenny."
"Nobody's going to be babysitting me," a voice spoke up. Jenny stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her ample chest and a frown on her face. She set her firm gaze on Ian. "I'm coming with you tomorrow."
"If you want to stay safe then you'll stay here," he advised her.
"I want to stay in-the-know, honey, and sticking around here isn't going to keep me there," she argued.
Ian stood and threw up his arms. "All right, but don't say I didn't warn you."
We went to bed, and I slept peacefully until the early evening. I creaked open my eyes the next night and found myself face-to-face with a pink faced monster. I screamed and sat up. The monster burst out laughing.
"For a mystic you're pretty jumpy," the monster commented. Its voice sounded like Jenny, and it was dressed in bright pink silk pajamas.
I yanked the covers to my chin and glared at her. "What the hell are you doing in here?" I hissed.
A door in the house flew open for the second time in as many nights, this time it being mine, and Ian again stood in the doorway. He wore a fresh, shiny new overcoat of the same dark color. His eyes swept over the room and landed on my 'guest.'
"What's the-Jesus, Jenny, what the hell is crawling on your face?" he questioned her.
She stu
ck her tongue out at him. "It's facial, you idiot."
"It's something, now what the hell are you doing in here?" he wondered.
She turned to me and smiled. "I was watching her sleep, and I guess I got a little too close."
Ian blinked at her. "You were watching Enid sleep?"
Jenny spun around and some of her facial flew off and onto the floor. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Is that against the law?"
"Yeah, stalking is," he informed her.
"I wasn't stalking, I was just looking, now if you'll excuse me I need to take this stuff off." She marched into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.
I glanced at Ian and jerked my thumb towards the door. "Is she always this weird?"
He studied the shut bathroom door and nodded. "Yep. Anyway-" he turned his attention to me, "-are you up for helping me protect our 'guest' tonight?"
I flung aside the covers and swung my legs over the side of my bed. "Just fill me up with some food and I can pretend I'm a useful bodyguard."
Ian grinned. "If we run into anybody you just use that Barrier energy Ceci taught you. That'll knock anyone flat."
I raised an eyebrow. "Even humans?"
"If they've got spirit than you've got no problem," he assured me.
I ran a hand through my hair and shook my head. "I don't know about this. Maybe Cronus should go along and I stay home."
Ian strode over and took a seat beside me. He studied my face with a small smile on his lips. "You know, I actually tried asking him to go with us, but all I had to do was look into his eyes to see he wasn't interested. He's funny that way. He can't lie with those things."
I snorted. "Then he really does hate me."
Ian chuckled and stood. He turned and offered me his hand. "Come on, let's go. This'll give you practice for when Cronus isn't going to be there."
I sighed, but took his hand and let him pull me to my fight. "All right, but I don't guarantee I'll keep my cool and not explode."
"Just don't make it too messy," he teased.
CHAPTER 6
We stepped out into the hall and were joined by Jenny. She smiled at us. "And where are we to adventure tonight?" she wondered.
Ian shrugged. "There's a woman I know-"
"What woman don't you know?" Jenny teased.
Ian smiled. "Not everyone woman I know owns her own nightclub full of the paranormal."
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "You're not meaning-"
"Lilith," he finished.
Jenny's shoulders drooped and her face fell. "We have to go see that woman?"
"If anybody's supplying the Whisperers with that large a supply of sacred rocks, it's Lilith," he assured her.
"Who's she?" I spoke up.
"An old friend who might be able to help us," Ian told me.
Jenny snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Only if you sell your soul to her."
He smiled and shrugged. "She's our only lead, but I'm sure she'll come down on her price for an old friend."
"I wouldn't bet on it. . ." Jenny mumbled as we walked down the stairs.
Ian drove us to the rowdy part of the city. That was where the red lights on signs advertised more than just a single business. It showed that the district was a haven of the unwashed and unrepentant masses who lurked in the shadows under the cover of night. The district was a place where scum and respectable intersected to trade money for illicit goods.
The four-floor brick buildings stood side-by-side as though to better keep their secrets. The alleys behind them were almost as crowded as the sidewalks in front. People clamored to get into the more popular joints, with lines that stretched around blocks. We parked a half block from a club with a small giant masquerading as a bouncer at the door, but no line. I paused a few yards from the door and looked up. The sign over the door read The Four Horsemen.
"Nice name. Kind of gives you that apocalyptic feel," I commented.
"Lilith is fond of the Bible," Ian explained as he stepped in front of the bouncer. "I've got some brooms to deliver."
The man sneered, but jerked his head towards the door. Ian led us inside. The place was a square dance floor with a DJ at the far end. Colored strobe lights in the ceiling flashed over the dancing, jumping fools on the floor. The music was so loud my brain bounced with the beat.
I scooted up beside him. "Brooms to deliver?" I wondered.
"You'll see," he told me.
Ian guided us through the crowds and to the right-hand wall. A small door with a plaque stood in the wall. The plaque read Janitor. Ian opened the door and revealed a hidden staircase that went down into the foundation.
"Time to sweep up some information," he joked.
Jenny and I rolled our eyes as we followed him into the depths of the building. The basement was a little quieter, but no less crowded. Instead of music there was laughing, and instead of dancing people stood and sat around gambling tables. There was an assortment of poker, roulette, and other means of fun with money. The people wore street clothes, but dished out stacks of bills like they were high-rollers.
A row of tables, each with two chairs, was lined up along the right-hand wall in front of the stairs. The one farthest from the entrance was occupied by a woman of thirty with long red hair. She wore a long red dress with a slit that reached to her waist. The clothes hugged all the right curves and suited her smooth, beautiful white face. She faced the floor and her green eyes watched over the proceedings. Behind her was a curtained wall. A sly smile graced her lips, and it broadened when we stopped in front of her.
"Ian! How long it's been!" she scolded in a sweet voice. She stood and grasped his hands as she studied him. "And still in that same overcoat?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "My line of work means I go through more overcoats in a year than you do men."
"If that's true then I'm surprised the county dump isn't filled with your overcoats," she teased. She led him to the chair nearest to her and he happily plopped onto its seat while she resumed hers. Her hand slid across the table and settled atop his. "So what do I have the pleasure of this unexpected visit?"
Ian smiled. "I don't think you believe it's so unexpected."
She straightened and pulled her hand off his. "Mr. Osman, it's a terrible thing to say a woman is a liar."
"And it's a terrible thing for a woman to lie, but we'll just say I'm complimenting your intelligence and believe you know we're here to talk about the stones," Ian explained.
"And you think I'd know about those?" she cooed.
"If you don't then nobody does," he quipped.
Lilith smiled and leaned back. Her attention was drawn to the skinny strap of her dress and she toyed with the thin fabric. "Maybe I don't know, or maybe you don't have enough money to make me tell."
My eyes flickered to the curtain behind her. I swore it moved. Lilith turned her attention to Jenny and me. "But where are your manners, Mr. Osman? You haven't introduced us, and one of your friends has caught the attention of my bodyguard."
"Your bodyguard?" I asked her.
Lilith's smile widened, and from behind the curtain stepped a pale figure. The person was a man and in frame very much like Ruthven. He, too, studied me with red eyes.
Ian gestured to Jenny and me. "This is Jenny, and my assistant, Miss Enid Runa."
Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Runa? What an interesting name."
I shrugged. "That's the name my dad gave my mom when they dated."
"And after they stopped dating?" she wondered.
"Then the relationship stopped," I replied.
"I see. Well, as I'm sure Mr. Osman mentioned-" She gestured to herself and then the man behind her, "-I am Lilith, and this is my personal vampire bodyguard, Germain, and this-" she waved her hand at the club, "-is my domain."
"Now that the pleasantries are over, what can you tell me about those stones?" Ian persisted.
Lilith laughed. "You are stubborn, aren't you, Mr. Osman? And what if I were to t
ell you something about them, hmm? What would you give me in return?"
"A favor, or money," he offered.
Her eyes flickered over him and her smile widened. "Keep the money, I have enough. As for the favor-" She leaned towards Ian and I barely heard her whispering words, "-my favors are high."
"That's why I'm offering you a favor from me. Only the best," he boasted.
"Ever the modest one, Mr. Osman," she teased.
I was about ready to gag when a commotion from the stairs interrupted the party. A group of five men in black overcoats flew down the stairs. Well, two of them flew. The other three were in the lead when their companions were tossed into them. They crashed like a bunch of bowling pins onto the floor at the bottom of the stairs. Behind them lumbered the sleeping giant from the front door.
The music upstairs and downstairs died as the five men scrambled to their feet. The gamblers vacated to the far side of the room as three of them summoned two Phantoms apiece and lodged them at the giant. The bouncer growled and flailed his arms as he tried to get a hold of the incorporeal creatures.
Lilith jumped to her feet and pursed her lips so tightly together I could barely tell she had two. "What is the meaning of this?"
Her voice cut through the fighting, and the giant stopped his flailing. One of the Whisperers, a man of middle-age with graying hair and a look of superiority, snapped his fingers. The Whisperers who summoned revoked their Phantoms. The man straightened his clothing and walked over to us.
"Good evening, Miss Lilith," he greeted her.
"What are you doing here, Mr. Dark?" she questioned him.
He bowed his head. "I'm sorry to intrude on you like this, Miss Lilith, but your guests here-" he gestured to us, "-are wanted."
"By whom?" Ian asked him.
A slimy smile slipped onto his pale lips. "If you would come with us I can tell you," he offered.
"And if we refuse?" Ian wondered.
"I would rather you didn't," Mr. Dark pleaded. His eyes flickered over his shoulder as the other Whisperers gathered around them. My eyes could see two dozen Phantoms between them. Not an impossible number, but for the first time it made me wish Cronus was here. "I can't be held responsible for the consequences."
Ian pulled out his packet of talismans. "Neither can I."
"Listen, boys," Lilith spoke up as she slid between them. She glanced from one face to the other and stopped her glaring eyes on Mr. Dark. "You know the rules, Mr. Dark. No business here."